Arsenal edge towards Champions League crown after downing Chelsea

Arsenal players celebrate (John Walton/PA)

Arsenal took a step closer to defending their Women’s Champions League title with a 3-2 aggregate win over Chelsea despite losing the second leg of their quarter-final 1-0.

The Blues will be left to rue missed chances at Stamford Bridge after Sjoeke Nusken’s late consolation was not enough to turn things around.

Chelsea came close to opening the scoring in the second half, but the excellent Daphne van Domselaar, who made a number of critical saves, tipped Sam Kerr’s effort over.

There were two early wasted chances for Nusken, and Alyssa Thompson was also just off-target as Chelsea looked for that all-important early opener.

The Blues kept Arsenal at bay during a bright spell at the other end of the pitch, but Chelsea could not capitalise on any of their ensuing chances, including another attempt from Thompson, who could only lift the ball over the bar.

Arsenal looked more of a threat to start the second half when Kerr finally gave Van Domselaar something to do, forcing a fingertip save from the Dutch keeper with a long-range effort in the 53rd minute.

Arsenal thought they had put the tie out of reach when Stina Blackstenius nodded past Hannah Hampton, but it was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.

It remained a game of near-misses for Chelsea when Veerle Buurman clipped the post from the rebound of a James effort and Van Domselaar came up with another massive stop to push Nusken’s header onto her post.

Nusken finally found the finishing touch, rifling into the roof of the net in the fourth minute of stoppage time, too late for the hosts to find a second.